“India saves 5 billion dollars with Russian crude oil”
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, India has saved almost $5 billion by buying crude oil from Russia, according to a study by the Bank of Baroda, the second largest of India’s state-controlled banks. While Western countries have cut imports of Russian energy, Delhi has increased them five-fold, paying for them at a discount. In 2021, India bought 2% of its total imports from Russia; today the percentage has risen to almost 20%. For every ton of crude, Delhi saved $89. After the invasion of Ukraine, India has not joined the sanctions against Russia and has defended its purchases, stating that, as a country that depends on imports for energy, it cannot afford to pay higher costs . At the end of last year, the Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar, said in a television interview that, despite the sanctions, European countries still bought six times more crude oil from Russia than Indian purchases.